Printing interpreter



Sept. 2, 1947. R. w. RITZERT PRINTING INTERPRBTBR Original Filed April 6. 1940 3 SheefiF-She et 1 FIG] INVENTOR ROBERT W. RITZERT ATTORNEY pt- 1947- R. w. RITZERT 2,426,951

rmurm m'rnnramna Original Filed April 6. 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ROBERT W. RlTZERT ATTORN 5y Sept. 2, 1947.

R. w. RITZERT rnm'mle Imam-Ba 'ori inal Filed April 6. 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOI ROBERT W. RITZERT QY)L L a a a o u a a a u ATTOR NEY Patented Sept. 2, 1947 PRINTING INTERPRETER Robert w. mam, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to Remington Rand Inc., Buflalo, N. Y., a corporation oi. Delaware Original application April 6, 1940, Serial No.

Divided and this application September 18, 1942, Serial No. 458,762

16 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in printing interpreters, and relates particularly to matter divided from my Patent 2,311,471 of February 16, 1943.

The invention herein described relates more particularly to improvements in mechanisms for controlling the position of the printed characters on the data cards and in controlling means for selecting the data to be printed.

The present invention uses a data code in which all the-letters of the alphabet and the ten numerals are represented. The cards which are punched with this data use two rows of fortyfive columns each, resulting in the well known Powers ninety column data card, I The present invention resides in the provision ot a printing chamber with means for aligning the punched cards in any one of seven positions,

and in an adjustable. translator wherein any combination of forty-five data positions may be selected for printing.

One of the objects of the invention is to obtain a means for printing sensed data in any one of seven horizontal'positions on the data card.

Another object of the invention is to permit the operator to shift from the sensing of an upper zone of a ninety column card to the sensing of the lower zone by moving a single lever.

Another object of the invention is to obtain an automatic control wherein a shift of the sensing mechanism results in a corresponding shift in the printing mechanism.

.Another object of th invention is to improve the facility with which the card stops may be adjustedv and interchanged. j

Other objects and structural details of the invention will be apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is across sectional view taken through the center of the machine showing the printing chamber and the printing mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the translator unit with some parts in section showing the method oi shifting the upper and lower interponents and changing the card stops;

Fig. 3 is aface view of the data'card;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of part of the translator lock mechanism and card stop control;

Fig. 5 is a side view of a portion of the startstop mechanism which shows the operation of the translator lock and the card stop transfer Fig. 6 is an isometric view of the card stops and their selective operating mechanism;

Fig. '7 is a side view, taken from the right, of the card clamping mechanism with some parts in section; and

Fig. 8 is a. plan view of a portion of the translator box showing the translator wires and the lower ends of the decoding bars. 1

The operation of the entire printing interpreter, together with all the detailed views of the mechanisms, has been described in the parent Patent No. 2,311,471, issued February 16, 1943. Reference should be made to this patent for all disclosures not specifically contained herein.

The present disclosure is confined to the selective operation of certain card stops in a printing chamber controlled by the manual setting of a translator head.

The more important components of the printing mechanism are shown in Fig. l. A set of card feed rolls Ill feeds a card into the printing chamber l l, where it is arrested by card stops l2 or I3 which are controlled by a series of levels and links under the printing chamber. The printing is effected by a print wheel it which acts on the card through a ribbon [5.

As soon as the printing action is completed the card stops I! or l3 are lowered and the card is I fed into the eject basket l5 by feed rolls i1.

The mechanism which senses the punched card has been described in the parent patent and I also in Patent 2,044,119, issued June 16, 1936, to'

W. W. Lasker. The sensed data may or may not be decoded, depending upon the complexity of the code used. Fig. 3 shows a data card l8 which is capable of receiving any one of 36 characters in ninety different columns. The data in any one of these columns is sensed by the usual cardsensing mechanism. It is then decoded by a plurality of decoding bars which control a series of stop bars I! (diagrammatically shown in Fig. 8) and these'in turn control the position of verti cal racks 20. The vertical motion of the rack bar 20 is transmitted by a train of gears to the print ing wheel It.

There are forty-five rack bars 20 in the niachine and any combination of forty-five columns may be printed at one time. If all ninety c01- umns are required to be interpreted, .the cards must be run through the machine twice.

Meshing with the teeth on rack bar 20 is a small gear wheel 2| which is secured to a larger gear wheel 22. The teeth on wheel 22 are meshed with an aligning gear 23' which has a ratchet wheel 24 secured to it and the gear 23 meshes with the print wheel It. The principal object of gear 23 isto hold the printing gears in amass:

. 3 I their printing position until returned to their normal position by a retract bail II. For this purpose a pawl 26 is mounted in engaging relation as shown in Fig. 1. After the type wheel mechanism has been positionedby the rack'bar 20, the pawl 26 is moved into engagement with the teeth of wheel 24, and by means of a supporting structure 21 rotating about shaft 23, the pawl is moved down an amount that is slightly more than necessary to make contact with the nearest tooth. This movement has for its object two important efiects. First. it provides a convenient and accurate method of aligning the type wheels ll, thereby counteracting any backlash or lost motion which otherwise might cause irregular printing. Second, the action lowers the rack bars 20 a small amount and allows the sensing and decoding mechanisms (not shown but disclosed and described in the parent patent) to be normalized without excessive friction or jamming.

The type wheels ll are formed with gear teeth, the ends of which are flattened to provide a type face. When the mechanism is about ready to print, a ball 30 carried by an arm- 3| and pivoted on shaft 32, which normally holds up a bell-crank 33, is lowered by suitable cam action and an extremity 34 of the bell-crank 33 is engaged by a horizontal ball 35. Soon after this operation the bail 33 is moved up and the bellcrank 33 rotates counter-clockwise about a shaft 36 under the force of spring 31. Due to a pin and slot connection 33 between an arm 43, which carrie the print wheel I l and the bell-crank 33, the print wheel is forced downwardly into contact with the ribbon and card.

Immediately after the printing operation, the ball 30 is raised by suitable camming action and the type wheel i4, together with the bell-crank 33, is raised to normal position. The bail 35 is lowered and the card is fed into the elect basket It by rollers I1.

After the type wheel I has been raised, the ball 25 is lowered and as it descends the rack bars 20 are engaged and brought down to their normal positions. The ratchet pawl 28 is kept in operative engagement during this operation and as the bars are lowered the teeth on ratchet wheel 24 slide under the pawl until they have been fully normalized. The printing section is then ready for another cycle of operations.

Upper-lower transfer As has been previously mentioned, the printing section contains forty-five print wheels and prints only forty-five characters at a time. since there ls'a total of ninety character positions on a standard data card, the cards will have to be run through the machine twice to completely interpret all the data punched therein. The most logical and generally used arrangement is to print all the data in the upper zone in a line somewhere in the upper half of the card, and then print all the data in the lower zone at some other position.

The sensing head, described in detail in the parent patent, is provided with a full quota of five hundred and forty sensing positions and all the sensed data information is transferred to the upper end of a translator unit 4| (see Fig. 2). At this point the upper ends of the translator wires 42 are directly below the lower ends of the printing control decoding bars 43, but only forty-five bars are provided and, hence, there is only one bar for every two translator wires. As is shown 4 in Figs. 2 and 8, the wires are arranged so that the decoding bars are operated by every other column of translator wires.

The upper frame of the translator, which holds the upper ends of the translator wires, is slidably constructed so that it may be moved transversely in the machine a distance equal to half the separation of the decoding bars. The decoding bar spacing is Just twice the spacing of the translator wires and only half of the translator wire extremities may engage the permutation bars at one setting.

Fig. 2 illustrates the mechanism which shifts the wires 42. A sliding frame 44 is held within the translator frame I! by four short rocker arms 45. A pair of adjustable eccentrics 43 is mounted on the slidable frame, with its eccentric portions engaging a slot 41 in the frame 4| so as to limit the frame motion. A short pin 43 is also secured to the frame I and a slotted crank 33 engages the pin and is pivotally mounted to the inner face of frame ll. A long handle 3| is secured to one arm of bell-crank it, so that an operator may shift the bell-crank and frame and also selectively operate the card stops in the printing chamber without reaching too far into the interior of the interpreter cabinet. The lower arm of bell-crank W is extended in the form of a blunt point 52 which acts as .a detent when associated with a roller 53, lever 34, and a spring 55.

When the printing interpreter has been set to print all the data occurring in the upper zone of the card and all the cards have been run through, the operator then moves lever ii to its other position and runs the cards through again. Since the second printing must be on a different part of the card than that of the first impression, the card stops in the printing chamber must be changed simultaneously with the translator wire shift. This change is accomplished by the following mechanism. An arm 66 of bell-crank 33 carries a pin 51, secured to its outer end, which engages a slot 58 in a vertically movable member 60. This member has a bent over portion 3| at its lower end to which is pivotally attached one end of a lever 82 (see Figs. 2, 4, and 5).

The lever 62 is rotatably mounted on a commonsleeve 63 (Fig. 5), on which are mounted numerous other levers and operating members associated with the start-stop mechanism. A lever 34 is also secured to this sleeve and its lower end is pivoted to a long link 65 by a pin, slot, and spring connection. The other end of link 63 is pivotally attached to a crank arm 36 which is secured to a shaft 61. The shaft 61 is journalled in both side frames of the interpreter, and extends across the machine and has secured thereon, near its middle portion, two. crank arms 03 (only one of which is shown) which operate the mechanism that selects the required card stops.

The shift from upper to lower is made by the lever II which has a long power arm and a short operating arm, therefore, there is considerable force exerted at the shiftable translator frame to move the translator wires the required amount. If the machine were stopped at a half-cycle point when some of the sensing pins were elevated, and an attempt were made to shift from one zone to another, the elevated translator wires would either be sheared oil! or badly bent. To prevent this, a locking mechanism is incorporated in the machine to prevent zone shifting at any time except at the end of a machine cycle. The vertical plate 60 is equipped with a lug 10 (Figs.

2. 4, and 5), which is engaged by a hook member 1| when the machine is running or shifted from its normal stopping position. The hook member 1| is.--attached to a shaft 12 to which is secured'a horizontal arm 13 with a pin 14 attached to its extremity. The pin 14 rests on a notched lever 15, the position of which is controlled by a no-card pin 16 (Fig. 2) and a series of linkages working in conjunction with the standard start-stop mechanism found on all Powers tabulators. vA full and complete description of the start-stop tabulator mechanism will be found in the above mentioned Patent 2,044,- 119, and also in Patent 2,151,177 issued to S.

' Alvine. March 21, 1939. Fig. 5 shows the parts in greater detail with the lever 15 in the normal stopping position. When the machine is running, a vertical rod 11 rises and falls once each cycle due to the action of a cam 10 keyed to a shaft 00. As long as the lever 15 is held over to the right by one of the controlsfor stopping the machine, the top of rod 11 will rise into the cutout portion of lever 15 and no further action will occur. When the cards are all run through the machine, or one of the stopping controls actuated, the lever 15 is pushed toward the rear of the machine (to the left in Fig. 5) and when cam 18 again raises rod 11, it will lift the lever 15 and, by a train of mechanism including lever 13, will stop the machine at the position indicated in Fig. 5.

The raising of lever 15 also rocks levers 13 and 1| counter-clockwise, thereby removing the hook portion of 1| from engagement with lug 10 on member 60 and allowing'the zonal shift by hand lever 5|. The position of cam 10 is such that when it raises the rod 11, there will be no sensing pins raised, no translator actuation, and, therefore, a zonal shift may be made without any mechanical injury. If, for any reason, the machine were stopped at any other point in the machine cycle, the bar 11 would not be raised, lever 15 would remain horizontal and the hook member 1I' would engage the lug 10, on its upper or lower edge, and prevent a zonal shift of the translator.

Card stops The base plate of the printing chamber II (Fig. 1) is provided with a plurality of slots through which card stops I2 and I! may be elevated to engage the front edge of the data card and position it for subsequent printing. While there are seven slots, giving seven printing positions, only two of these are used for any machine setting, and to change to any other two requires the removal of a machine element and the substitution of another.

A detailed view of the card stops is shown in Fig. 6. The upper portion of the stops slide vertically in slots 8| cut in the printing platen 82. The lower extremities of stops I2 and I3 are formed with square rods 83 which slide in holes cut in a bottom guide plate 84. Helical springs 85 positioned on the rods 03 urge the stops upwardly into engaging position, but an oblong hole 86 cut in the central portion of the stops serves as a means for limiting their motion.

A flat stop-conditioning selective control link 81 is positioned in the oblong holes and slides in two slots 88 cut in vertical supporting brackets 90 and its position is controlled by a pin and slot connection 9| with arm 60. A notch 92 is formed in the lower edge of link 81' so that, when the lever arm 68 is moved toward the front of the machine, the notch 92 will be aligned with the card stop I2. A similar notch 93 is out in the lower edge of link 81 so that, when the lever 68 is moved toward the rear of the machine, the notch 93 will be aligned with the card stop I3 and permit it to rise. A stop detent lever arm 94 is positioned in the oblong holes 86 and at predetermined intervals during the operating cycle of the machine, the lever arm is raised to allow the stop, with which either notch 91 or 93 has been aligned, to be raised by its spring 85 to card stopping position. To effect this motion the lever arm 94 (Fig. l) is secured to a shaft 95 to which in turn is fastened a cam follower 95. The cam follower is spring-pressed against a cam 91 which rotates once for each machine cycle.

It should be pointed out that shaft 01 (Fig. 6), which determines by its position which of the two stops will rise, is controlled by lever 66 and link 55. These in turn are controlled by the looking mechanism (see Fig. 5) and the position of vertical plate 50, which in turn is positioned by hand lever 5|. Therefore, the setting of hand lever 5| to the upper or lower printing position will determine which of the two stops I2 or I3 will be raised, without any further adjustment or setting.

Card clamping mechanism The most convenient and usual place to print the data characters for the upper zones is on the upper part of the card, close to the top edge (see Fig. 3). This presents a serious difiiculty, because the type wheel I4 is liable to strike the card stop I! during the printing operation and injure the type. Accordingly, the stop card cam 91 is formed so as to lower the card stops at about five degrees before the printing operation, and a mechanical clamping device, called a pressure pad, is used to hold the card in place while the printing is effected. Two cams are employed to operate the card clamps, one of which is shown in Fig. '7. A transverse power shaft I00 (see also Fig. l) is employed to carry a cam |0I with a cam follower I02 which engages the cam by means of a roller I03. At about 234 of the machine cycle the cam follower is lowered by means of a spring I04 to clamp the card between plate I08 and the base plate 02, and at about 262 the follower is raised to normal position again. The cam follower actuates U-shaped lever I05, one end of which is pivoted on a stud I00, the other end formed with a bent over portion I01.

The actual clamping of the card is done by a flat plate I00 which extends across the entire printing chamber and is secured at either end to the bent over portions I01.

the plate I08 the correct distance above the base plate 01 to allow the card easy entrance and exit,

but at the same time providing secure clamping arrest the card motion, then the clamp is tightened; the card stops are lowered; the printing is performed; and the card is released to be rolled into the eject basket.

While I have described what I consider to be a highly desirable embodiment of my invention,

Three bolts at each end provide an adiusting means for positioningit is obvious that many changes in form could be made without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I, therefore, do not limit myself to the exact form herein shown and described, nor to anything less than the whole of my invention as hereinbei'ore set forth, and as hereinafter claimed.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In an interpreting machine, connecting means for connecting an analyzing mechanism with a decoding mechanism, said connecting means comprising a plurality of flexible interponents mounted in a removable frame, the lower ends of said interponents engaged by latchable pins in the analyzing mechanism, the upper ends of one-half of said interponents positioned in engaging position with the decoding mechanism, and a shifting mechanism for transversely moving the upper end assembly whereby the upper ends of one-half of said interponents are disengaged from the decoding mechanism and the upper ends of the other half of said interponents are engaged.

2. In an interpreting machine, connecting means for connecting an analyzing mechanism with a decoding mechanism, said connecting means designed to transmit only part of the data received from the analyzing mechanism, and comprising a plurality of flexible interponents mounted in a removable frame, the lower ends of said interponents engaged by latchable pins in the analyzing mechanism, the upper ends of a portion of said interponents positioned in engaging position with the decoding mechanism, and a shifting mechanism for transversely moving the upper end assembly whereby the upper ends of a portion of said interponents are disengaged from the decoding mechanism and the upper ends of another portion of said interponents are engaged.

3. In an interpreting machine, connecting means for transferring data sensed in a punched data card from an analyzing mechanism to the permutation bars of a decoding mechanism, said connecting means comprising a plurality of flexible interponents mounted in a removable frame, the lower ends of said interponents engaged by latchable pins in the analyzing mechanism, the upper ends of said one-half of the interponents disposed in engaging position to the permutation bars of the decoding mechanism, and movable means in the frame for transferring the upper ends of said one-half of the interponents to a disengaging position while transferring the upper ends of the other half of said interponents to an engaging position.

4. In an interpreting machine, connecting means for transferring data sensed in a punched data card from an analyzing mechanism to a decoding mechanism, said connecting means comprising a plurality of flexible interponents mounted in a removable frame, the lower ends of said interponents being engaged by latchable pins in the analyzing mechanism, the upper ends of a portion of said interponents so disposed as to engage permutation bars in the decoding mechanisms, the remainder of said interponents being alternatively disposed between the mountings of the first half of said flexible interponents, and means for transversely moving all upper end mountings of said interponents, whereby one portion is removed from engaging position and the remainder is moved into engaging position.

5. In an interpreting machine, a card printing chamber comprising in combination, means gagement with the card after engagement of the gripping means with the card and before operation of said printing means, cam operated means for withdrawing said gripping means from engagement with the card, and means for electing the data card from said chamber.

6. In an interpreting machine, a card printing chamber comprising in combination, means for injecting a punched data card into said chamber, spaced card stops for, arresting the card at progressive positions in the chamber, means for frictionally gripping the card after arrest by a card stop, means for printing characters on said card, means for withdrawing the stops from card arresting position after engagement of the gripping means with the card and before printing occur-stand means for withdrawing the gripping means from engagement with the card.

7. In an interpreting machine including an adjustable translator unit, a card printing chamber and means for injecting a punched data card into said chamber the combination with said chamber of spaced card stops for positioning the card at predetermined positions in the chamber, means for conditioning the card stops to coincide with adjustments of said unit, means for actuating the stops, means for frictionally gripping the card after'it is positioned by said card stops, means for printing characters on said card after card engaging operation of the gripping means and withdrawal of the stops, and mean for releasing the card for rejection from said chamber.

8. In an interpreting machine including an adjustable translator unit, a card printing chamber, and means for injectingv a data card into said chamber, the combination with said chamber of spaced card stops for positioning the card at predetermined positions in the chamber, translator adjusting means for frictionally gripping the card after being positioned by said card stops, means for printing characters on said card after the stops are moved from arresting position, and means for releasing and ejecting the card from said chamber.

9. In an interpreting machine, in combination, a shifting mechanism for adjusting part of a translator unit, a card printing chamber, means for feeding a card into'said chamber; a plurality of card stops for arresting the card at one of two printing positions, means for clamping the card at one of said positions, selecting means for designating the proper card stop to be operated to arrest a card fed into the printing chamber, and means linked to said shifting mechanism for operating the selecting means in accordance with the adjusting movement of said shifting mechanism.

10. In an interpreting machine, a translator frame shifting means, a printing chamber to which cards are fed, a plurality of card stops for arresting a card at one of two positions in the chamber, selecting means for designating the proper card stop to be operated, and a link controlled by said shifting means for operating said selecting means in accordance with the movements of said frame shifting means.

11. In an interpreting machine a translator frame shifting means, a card printing chamber, a purality of card stops for arresting a card fed to said chamber at any one of a number of printing positions, selective means for designating the proper card stop when a card is fed into the printing chamber, said selective means including a selecting bar having notches cut in the lower edge thereof to permit said selected card stops to be raised to operative position, and a link controlled by said shifting means for actuating said selecting bar in accordance with the movements of said frame shifting means.

12. In an interpreting machine, the combination of a platen for supporting a card fed thereto for printing impression, card stop means associated with said platen, means for selectively controlling the movement of said stop means for detaining a card at diflerent positions on said platen, pressure means for holding the card immovable with respect to the platen for a printing impression, means for actuating said pressure means, and means for moving the card stop means from card detaining position after actuation of said pressure means and prior to printing impression.

13. In an interpreting machine having translator unit adjusting means, card printing means,

a printing platen and means for feeding cards.

to the platen, the combination with said platen of spaced card stops, means for selecting said stops, means controlled by said unit adjusting means for operating, the stop selecting means, means for moving the stops into and out oi card arresting position, means for holding the card immovable with respect to said platen for a.

spondingtothedataofaseieetediieneoithe cardonlywillhetransferred'tosaiddecoding unit, step means for arresting the card for printing impression, means controlled by said shiit meansforoperatingthestopmeanstoarrest the card for imprint, in the selected zone thereof, with the data perforated in said none, and meansfor preventing operation of said shifting means during predetermined portions of each complete operating cycle of the machine.

15. In an interpreting machine, in combination, a platen to which cards are fed to receive a printed impression, spaced stops. associated with said platen, means for projecting one stop to arrest a card at one position on the platen and means for projecting another stop to arrest a card at a diflerent position on the platen, each of said stops presenting an edge portion, detent means engaging said edge portions for holding each of the stops in retracted position, stop selecting means having a notch for alignment with the edge portion of each of said stops, and means for adjusting said stop selecting means to align one of said notches with the edge of one of the stops whereby the latter may be projected to card arresting position upon withdrawal of said adjusting means.

16. In an-interpreting machine, in combination, a platen to which cards are fed to receive a printed impression, spaced stops associated with said platen, means for projecting either of said stops to arrest a card at one position or another on the platen, each of said stops having an opening providing an edge portion, detent means for engagement with the edge portions for holding said stops in retracted position, stop selecting means having a notch for alignment with the edge portion of each of said stops, means for adjusting sid stop selecting means to align one of said notches with the edge of one of said stops whereby the latter may be projected to card arresting position upon withdrawal of said detent means and means for preventing operation of said adjusting means during predetermined portions of each complete operatingcycle of the machine.

ROBERT W. RI'IZERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,933,354 lmglish Dec. 4, 1934 2,044,121 Lasker June 16, 1936 1,941,663 Curtis Jan. 2, 1934- 2,105,291 Maul Jan. 11, 1938 2,311,471 Ritaert Feb. 16, 1943 65,127 21s a: Il I my 28, 1,119,723 spiess Sept. 25, 1914 1,405,515 Hughes Feb. '7, 1922 1,626,227 Dixon Apr. 6, 1927 2,315,828 Thatcher Apr. 6, 1943 2,027,916 Lasker Jan. 14, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 669,959 Germany Jan. 7, 1939 845,884 France Sept. 4, 1939 

